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Why the release of new Prince music has been blocked

After a new Prince
album called "Deliverance" was announced, featuring "undiscovered
Prince recordings," a US district judge in Minnesota granted a
temporary restraining order to Prince's estate Wednesday night
against the planned release of music.

Prince's estate sued George Ian Boxill Wednesday, the album's
coproducer, claiming Boxill was "unauthorized" to release the
music, according to Rolling Stone. That evening, a judge agreed
with the estate, writing that Boxill "shall not publish or
otherwise disseminate any unreleased recordings that comprise the
work of Prince Rogers Nelson that are alleged to be within the
scope of the Confidentiality Agreement between Boxill and Paisley
Park Enterprises." The ruling also ordered Boxill to immediately
deliver all of the recordings to the estate.

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"Deliverance" is a six-song album featuring music the musician
recorded between 2006 and 2008. A track from the album was
available earlier this week on iTunes and Apple Music. The full
album was set for release on Friday, the one-year anniversary of
Prince's death. But since the ruling, no tracks from
"Deliverance" are available on any streaming services.

The musician's estate laid out its case against Boxill in a
statement on Wednesday.

"During his unparalleled career, Prince worked with many sound
engineers, including Mr. Boxill," the statement said. "Like the
other engineers that had the opportunity to work with Prince, Mr.
Boxill signed an agreement, under which he agreed (1) all
recordings that he worked on with Prince would remain Prince's
sole and exclusive property; (2) he would not use any recordings
or property in any way whatsoever; and (3) he would return any
such recordings or property to Prince immediately upon request.

"Mr. Boxill did not comply with his agreement," the statement
continued. "Instead, Mr. Boxill maintained copies of certain
tracks, waited until after Prince's tragic death, and is now
attempting to release tracks without the authorization of the
Estate and in violation of the agreement and applicable law."